MATUMBAMAN is leaving Team Secret and SumaiL may replace him

Lasse Aukusti “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen is departing from Team Secret and that has some big implications for Syed “SumaiL” Hassan.

Clement “Puppey” Ivanov’s organization announced the news of MATUMBAMAN’s departure on Twitter. It is unclear what is leading to the carry player’s departure and both sides seemed to lament his leaving on the team’s official website.

“I’m staring at this notepad and I’m a bit at a loss for words. Writing pleasantries for the public has never been my style so let’s just get down to it. Playing with the boys was a blast this past year. I appreciate each and every one of my former teammates and would count each one of them a friend,” MATUMBAMAN said.

MATUMBAMAN’s departure comes after Team Secret suffered a third-place finish in The International 2021, falling to eventual winner Team Spirit in the lower bracket finals. Secret enjoyed a wildly successful two years with MATUMBAMAN, including an unprecedented run of success in 2020. 

It’s unclear what’s next for MATUMBAMAN. Given his skill and reputation, he could hypothetically land anywhere but he could also wind up in limbo for an extended period of time because of Dota 2’s lack of stability as other top talents have. But rumors suggest that fans know what’s in store for Team Secret.

SumaiL may be replacing MATUMBAMAN on Team Secret

There have been rumblings that former OG carry SumaiL and Evil Geniuses offlaner Daryl Koh “iceiceice” Pei Xiang are set to join Team Secret for the 2022-2023 season.

Though Dota 2 rumors tend to be a mix of prescient and completely baseless, the pieces have been moving to suggest that this is true. In early November, Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg left the squad in favor of Team Liquid. 

This means that the two spots are now open for the duo to join, and most of the pieces are in place for this to come to fruition. SumaiL was confirmed to be out of OG for the next season, departing alongside Martin “Saksa” Sazdov. There’s been no word from iceiceice or Evil Geniuses regarding their relationship.

If this roster comes together it would be the latest all-star lineup for Team Secret. The next Dota Pro Circuit season is coming up in just a few weeks, so expect announcements to come in the near future.